Page 48 of Nanny for the Don

She nods. “You still can. It’s not too late. Mr. Conti would be disappointed, but he’d understand.”

I glance out the window, watching the snow fall in thick, heavy flakes. The world outside looks so peaceful, so untouched by everything swirling around me. But I know it’s not just the snow keeping me here.

I could leave, but something keeps pulling me back. The girls. I’ve come to love them. And Nico, and the fact that I’m pregnant with his child.

I turn back to Ms. M, my curiosity getting the best of me. “What happened to Mrs. Conti?”

She pauses, her expression shifting just slightly. She corrects me, her voice firm. "There is no Mrs. Conti."

I blink, confused.I’m confused. “So, what, the girls just got dropped off by a stork or something?”

Ms. M gives a small smile, but then says something that makes me pause. . “The truth isn’t too far off from that.”

I lean in, curious.

She leans back in her chair, her gaze distant, like she’s pulling the memory from the past. “It was a cool summer night, four years ago. Out of nowhere, there was a knock at the door. When I opened it, I found two car seats and those two little beauties upstairs. There was a note tucked inside one of the seats that read, ‘I can’t do it. Please, take care of them.’”

I am stunned as she continues.

“I brought the girls in and immediately called Mr. Conti. The moment he saw them, I could tell he knew exactly what had happened. He’d had a brief fling with a woman nearly a year prior, and she couldn’t raise them, so she left them at his door.”

I raise an eyebrow, still processing. “Was he hesitant to take them in?”

Ms. M shakes her head, a soft smile on her face. “Not even for a second. The moment he saw them, he fell in love. From that night on, they were his world.”

Ms. M’s smile falters a bit as she continues. "A new part of Mr. Conti was born that day, just as surely as those little girls were brought into this world—a side of him that’s loving, protective, and fiercely devoted.” She pauses, giving me a pointed look. "And I get the sense he’s ready to bring you into that part of his world."

I tense, her words hitting a little too close to home. Does she know? No way, I think, trying to shake it off. But there’s something about the way she looks at me that makes me feel like she knows more than she’s letting on.

She stands up. , her calm presence filling the room. “I’ll put the girls to bed. I imagine you’ve got quite a bit to talk about with Mr. Conti.”

I glance at her, my mind spinning, but all I can manage is a quiet, “Thank you, Ms. M. Seriously.”

She smiles warmly, her usual professional demeanor softening. She smiles. “Call me Olivia.”

With that, she walks off, leaving me sitting there with a lot more questions than answers.

Chapter 24

Willow

I’m alone again, and as soon as the silence wraps around me, that damn scene from the basement crashes back into my mind.I can see it so clearly—the man tied up, blood trickling down, Nico standing next to him with that awful tool, ready to make him suffer more. The memory makes my stomach churn, the bile rising in my throat.

It’s not just the violence, it’s the contrast that’s tearing me up inside.

How can Nico, the same man who’s so tender with his girls, so loving and gentle with me, be capable of something so dark? The question gnaws at me. Whoisthis man?

I look down, placing my hand on my belly, and the weight of it hits me all over again. Whatever darkness is inside of him, it’s a part of me now, too. Part of the baby growing inside me. The thought makes my chest tighten, the anxiety swirling in my head.

What am I supposed to do? I’m trapped between two versions of Nico—the loving father and lover, and the man capable ofunspeakable things.

I don’t have answers, but I know one thing for sure: this choice I have to make is going to change everything.

I watch the snow falling harder, piling up outside. With each inch that builds, the chances of me leaving slip away. But if I’m being real, it’s not just the snow keeping me here.

Olivia’s words keep bouncing around in my head: women like us are drawn to this life. Is that actually true? Is there some part of me that finds Nico’s dark side...appealing? The thought sends a weird rush through me, one I can’t totally shake.

Before I can untangle it, I hear heavy footsteps coming down the hallway. My heart skips a beat, and I don’t even need to look to know it’s Nico. He’s coming, and I have no idea what I’m going to say.

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